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A minha irmã é cantora e escreve uma canção nova todas as semanas.

A minha irmã é cantora e escreve uma canção nova todas as semanas.
My sister is a singer and writes a new song every week.
FromLesson 30inHardcore Portuguese (Portugal)

Breakdown of A minha irmã é cantora e escreve uma canção nova todas as semanas.

ser
to be
minha
my
novo
new
e
and
escrever
to write
uma
a
todo
every
a semana
the week
a irmã
the sister
a cantora
singer
a canção
the song

Questions & Answers about A minha irmã é cantora e escreve uma canção nova todas as semanas.

Why do we say a minha irmã instead of just minha irmã?
In European Portuguese, possessive adjectives like meu/minha, teu/tua etc. normally appear with a definite article. That’s why you say a minha irmã, o meu carro, as tuas amigas, and so on. In many parts of Brazil you’ll also hear them without the article (just minha irmã), but in Portugal it’s standard to include o/a.
Why isn’t there an uma before cantora? In English I’d say “she is a singer.”

When you state someone’s profession, Portuguese usually drops the indefinite article. So you say

  • (Ela) é cantora
    not
  • É uma cantora
    This is a normal structure for predicate nouns indicating jobs or roles.
Could I add uma there (“ela é uma cantora”)? Does it change the meaning?
Yes, ela é uma cantora is grammatically correct. Adding uma places a slight emphasis on her being one singer among others or treats “singer” as a member of a group. Omitting it (é cantora) is more neutral and very common in European Portuguese.
What does canção mean? Why not use música?
  • Canção = song, especially a lyrical piece with words.
  • Música = music in a broader sense (melodies, genres, instrumental pieces).
    If you want to talk about composing or writing a song with lyrics, canção is the precise term.
Why is it canção nova and not nova canção? How does adjective placement work?

In Portuguese most adjectives follow the noun:

  • canção nova (new song)
    Putting the adjective before the noun (nova canção) is possible but sounds more poetic or emphatic. The neutral, everyday order is noun + adjective.
What does todas as semanas mean? Could I say cada semana instead?
Todas as semanas literally means “all the weeks,” i.e. every week. You can also say cada semana (“each week”), which is perfectly fine. Note that todas and as agree in gender (feminine) and number (plural) with semanas.
Why isn’t there a subject pronoun ela before escreve?
Portuguese verb endings indicate the subject. Escreve already tells you it’s he/she writes (ele/ela). Because the person is clear from the conjugation, speakers often drop the pronoun unless they need extra emphasis or clarity.
How do you pronounce the ão in canção, and what does the tilde (~) mean?
The ão combination with a tilde produces a nasal vowel you won’t find exactly in English. It’s something like “owng” (imagine “own” but nasalized), without pronouncing a hard g. The tilde (~) marks nasalization of the vowel.
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